Read Return of the Ancients for Free Online

He was close to the laser acceleration track, and not far from where the ring bulged around the pipe. With all the cameras positioned there, he expected he’d get someone’s attention pretty quickly.
    Barkin is going to pay for this , he thought, and jogged towards the bulge, leaning in close to the mechanism and waving his arms.
    *****
     
    ‘Moving into ignition  lockdown.’ The room fell into silence. Even the chattering students were silenced by the suspense as they watched the screens.
    A computer-generated voice counted down from thirty seconds: Twenty-nine–twenty-eight–twenty-seven–twenty-six . . .
    One of the technicians was on his feet pointing. ‘Wha . . . what the . . . there’s a kid in there!’
    The room descended into shouting, panic and confusion. Beescomb went as white as a sheet as he recognised the figure on the screen. His mouth opened and closed, but no words came.
    Twenty–nineteen–eighteen–seventeen . . .
    ‘Shut it down, shut it down!’
    Barkin smirked at the rear of the observation room and nudged Otis. Harper grabbed and lifted one of the technicians from his seat, taking control of his command board. The scientist’s voice had gone up several octaves as he screamed over his shoulder, ‘Abort, abort! For God’s sake, abort!’
    Five–four–three–two . . .
    The synthetically calm computer voice intoned, ‘Laser firing commencing.’
    The room froze as if time had stopped. There was no sound or movement as everyone watched the screens. Edward held his breath.
    The photonic diamond glowed, turning the chamber, and their screens an infernal red as the particles, which were travelling at a fraction under the speed of light, were given an extra kick by the laser.
    On the screen, they could see Arn stop waving and turn to look at the bulge. The screen blurred slightly, like it was recording something behind a gauze veil. Then Arn blurred as the veil thickened and became more like a waterfall of oil.
    Edward sucked in a breath in horror. Arn seemed to bend unnaturally for a moment, his body distorting, his mouth opening in a silent scream of pain and confusion. The Hadean red glow of the diamond, coupled with Arn’s horrific contortions, made it a scene straight from the pit of Hell.
    The display went black.
    The only sound Edward heard was Becky screaming Arn’s name. She actually cares after all , he thought with surprise.
    The screen came back on.
    Arn was gone.

Chapter 4
     

Weird Things for Company
     
     
    Excruciating pain, dizziness and nausea. Light, then swirling colours, then darkness. Arn fell with a thump into mud and shards of something hard.
    He blinked. There was nothing in front of his eyes. He sat up and pushed the heels of his hands into them and rubbed hard. He opened them again – there wasn’t the faintest ray or particle of light. His head hurt, reminding him of the time he had spent too long at the beach and got too much sun on the back of his neck.
    It was like he was still locked back in the storeroom. Or have I gone blind? he thought dismally. He held out a hand, and waved it around – nothing.
    He sniffed. There was a rank dampness, and something else unpleasant. He held his breath and strained to hear – there was faint dripping coming from somewhere far away. Arn stood and reached out again. He took a few steps, groping in the darkness like a blind man, and then his hand touched a wall. It was slick with slime.
    He flicked his fingers. ‘Yecch.’
    Arn stepped sideways and his head banged into something metallic, showering him with flakes of what he assumed was rust. He swore loudly, and after the echo died away, he heard something in the distance – a movement, like a shuffling or dragging.
    ‘Hello?’ No response. The noise stopped. ‘Hello, anybody there?’
    It started again; this time it was closer. There came a soft murmur.
    Arn remembered the cigarette lighter in his pocket, and pulled it free, frantically spinning the